A volley of gunfire broke the calm of the picturesque Pahalgam valley in Kashmir on Tuesday, killing at the least 26 vacationers within the deadliest assault on civilians in a long time within the restive Himalayan area of India.
The assault started at round 2.30pm in Baisaran, a small valley dubbed “mini Switzerland” for its snow-capped peaks and luxurious meadows accessible solely by foot or on horseback.
1000’s of vacationers, each home and worldwide – many seeking to escape the Indian summer time warmth – arrive in Pahalgam in southern Kashmir on any given spring day to benefit from the meadows ringed by dense pine forests. So it was on Tuesday, till gunshots echoed within the valley and despatched panicked guests operating for his or her lives.
Witnesses say between 4 and 6 gunmen in military-style outfits emerged from the close by forest and unleashed a barrage of gunfire at shut vary in an assault that lasted 15 to twenty minutes.
Because the photographs rang out, many vacationers ran for canopy, however there was scarcely wherever to cover within the open meadow, the place greater than 1,200 folks have been reportedly current on the time.
A survivor mentioned it felt “like an eternity” because the attackers moved throughout the meadow firing indiscriminately. “They have been there at the least for 20 minutes, undeterred, shifting round and opening hearth,” the vacationer was quoted as telling police by The Indian Categorical.
An area vacationer pony service operator informed the AFP information company that the gunmen “very clearly spared ladies and stored taking pictures at males”.
“Typically a single shot and generally many bullets,” added the eyewitness, who didn’t give his identify. “It was like a storm.”
One other pony handler informed native media they heard “what seemed like firecrackers” after which “folks began screaming and dropping”.
Graphic and emotive movies shared from the scene confirmed the useless and injured mendacity in swimming pools of blood as their kin screamed in shock. Some ladies have been seen pleading for assist from native shopkeepers, who tried to calm them.
Among the wounded have been taken to hospital on horseback by native folks, earlier than army helicopters arrived to evacuate the survivors.
A younger lady travelling along with her husband mentioned they have been having snacks when a gunman got here and shot him after asking if he was Muslim. She mentioned the gunman opened hearth when he mentioned he was not.
“We have been consuming bhelpuri, and my husband was standing by my facet. An individual got here and shot my husband,” she narrated in Hindi in a video on social media. A extensively circulated picture confirmed her sitting apparently in shock beside her husband’s useless physique.
The army and Kashmir police responded to the assault by launching a serious counterterror operation, although as of Wednesday afternoon there have been no confirmed reviews that any of the gunmen had been apprehended. The army heightened safety throughout the area as Pahalgam’s bustling resorts and lodges emptied out.
Within the wake of the assault, the safety forces instantly confronted questions on their lack of deployment across the vacationer hotspot.
New Delhi has rolled out extremely publicised measures lately to spice up tourism and financial exercise in Kashmir, a part of an effort to challenge a picture of stability within the majority Muslim area since Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist authorities revoked its autonomy in 2019 and started administering it instantly.
In accordance with authorities information, Kashmir acquired 22 million vacationers in 2023 in contrast with slightly below 17 million in 2018.
The assault prompted high Indian officers, together with house minister Amit Shah, to hurry to Srinagar, the regional capital, whereas Mr Modi lower quick a visit to Saudi Arabia.
The prime minister condemned the “terror assault” and mentioned that “these behind this heinous act shall be delivered to justice”.
“We are going to come down closely on the perpetrators with the harshest penalties,” Mr Shah posted on social media after arriving in Srinagar and convening an pressing safety assembly.
“This assault is way bigger than something we have now seen directed at civilians lately,” Omar Abdullah, Kashmir’s high elected official, mentioned on social media.
As many as 24 our bodies have been collected within the aftermath of the assault, and two folks died on the best way to hospital. Not less than 17 folks have been injured.
UN secretary basic Antonio Guterres condemned the assault and confused that “assaults in opposition to civilians are unacceptable below any circumstances”.
US vice-president JD Vance, at present visiting India, referred to as it a “devastating terrorist assault”, whereas US president Donald Trump mentioned Washington “stands sturdy with India in opposition to terrorism”.
A number of different world leaders, together with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, additionally condemned the assault.
In accordance with Indian information reviews sourced from nameless authorities officers, the assault was claimed by the Resistance Entrance, a shadow group of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
An armed insurgency in opposition to Indian rule in Kashmir has killed a whole bunch of hundreds of individuals since 1989, and gunfights between safety forces and insurgent teams should not unusual. Nevertheless, Indian and international vacationers flocking to Kashmir in large numbers for its Himalayan foothills and exquisitely adorned houseboats have hardly ever been focused.
India has lengthy accused Pakistan of supporting separatist violence within the area on its borders, and the 2 nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars over Kashmir, a area they every declare in full however management partially.
Indian opposition chief Rahul Gandhi, whereas condemning the assault, mentioned the Modi authorities should take accountability as a substitute of creating “hole claims on the scenario being regular” within the area.
